Former San Diego Padres great Tony Gwynn died Monday after a long battle with cancer. He was 54. (Lenny Ignelzi / The Associated Press)

Long Beach native and Hall of Fame outfielder Tony Gwynn passed away early Monday morning, following a courageous battle with cancer, at age 54 on Monday at Pomerado Hospital in Poway, Calif., surrounded by his family.

Gwynn, who was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, totaled 3,141 hits in 20 seasons with the San Diego Padres from 1982-2001, compiling a career .338 batting average — 18th best of all-time — in 2,440 games. The 15-time All-Star won eight batting titles and five Gold Glove Awards. He was a key member of the 1984 and 1998 San Diego Padres National League Championship teams.

Gwynn’s sweet left-handed swing made him one of San Diego’s best-loved athletes. He was nicknamed “Mr. Padre” during his 20-year major league career.

Gwynn was born in Los Angeles on May 9, 1960, and attended Long Beach Poly High.

“It is with profound sadness that we mourn the passing of Tony Gwynn,” said Jane Forbes Clark, Chairman of the Board of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “He was beloved by so many, especially the Hall of Fame family, for his kindness, graciousness and passion for the game. Tony was one of baseball history’s most consistent hitters and most affable personalities. He was an icon for San Diego Padres fans, never more evident than on Induction Day of 2007, when tens of thousands of Tony’s most appreciative fans filled Cooperstown for his Hall of Fame speech. We extend our deepest sympathies to Alicia and the entire Gwynn family.”

Gwynn and his brothers, Charles and Chris, all played multiple sports at Long Beach Poly and all went on to play professional baseball. The field on the Poly campus is named the Gwynn Family Field in their honor.

He had been on a medical leave from his job as baseball coach at San Diego State, his alma mater, since late March.

Gwynn had said that he believed the cancer was from chewing tobacco.

Gwynn had two operations for cancer in his right cheek between August 2010 and February 2012. The second surgery was complicated, with surgeons removing a facial nerve because it was intertwined with a tumor inside his right cheek. They grafted a nerve from Gwynn’s neck to help him eventually regain facial movement.

“For more than 30 years, Tony Gwynn was a source of universal goodwill in the national pastime, and he will be deeply missed by the many people he touched,” Commissioner Bud Selig said.

Gwynn excelled at hitting singles the other way, through the “5.5 hole” between third base and shortstop.

He homered off the facade at Yankee Stadium off San Diego native David Wells in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series and scored the winning run in the 1994 All-Star Game. He was hitting .394 when a players strike ended the 1994 season, denying him a shot at becoming the first player to hit .400 since San Diego native Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.

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Gwynn befriended Williams and the two loved to talk about hitting. Gwynn steadied Williams when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the 1999 All-Star Game at Boston’s Fenway Park.

Gwynn retired after the 2001 season. He and Cal Ripken Jr. who spent his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles were inducted into the Hall of Fame in the class of 2007.

Gwynn was a two-sport star at San Diego State in the late 1970s-early 1980s, playing point guard for the basketball team. He still holds the game, season and career record for assists.

Gwynn always wanted to play in the NBA, until realizing during his final year at San Diego State that baseball would be the ticket to the pros.

“I had no idea that all the things in my career were going to happen,” he said shortly before being inducted into the Hall of Fame. “I sure didn’t see it. I just know the good Lord blessed me with ability, blessed me with good eyesight and a good pair of hands, and then I worked at the rest.”

He was a third-round draft pick of the Padres in 1981.

After spending parts of just two seasons in the minor leagues, he made his big league debut July 19, 1982. Gwynn had two hits that night, including a double, against the Philadelphia Phillies. After doubling, Pete Rose, who had been trailing the play, said to Gwynn: “Hey, kid, what are you trying to do, catch me in one night?”

Gwynn’s son, former Dodgers outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr., paid tribute to his father on his Twitter account: “Today I lost my Dad, my best friend and my mentor. I’m gonna miss u so much pops. I’m gonna do everything in my power to continue to... make u proud!”

Gwynn Jr. was placed on the bereavement list by the Philadelphia Phillies, for whom he is hitting .155 in 52 games.

Fellow Hall of Famer Greg Maddux tweeted, “Tony Gwynn was the best pure hitter I ever faced! Condolences to his family.”

Gwynn was known for his hearty laugh and warm personality. Every day at 4 p.m., Gwynn sat in the Padres’ dugout and talked baseball or anything else with the media.

Tim Flannery, who was teammates with Gwynn on the Padres’ 1984 World Series team and later was on San Diego’s coaching staff, said he’ll “remember the cackle to his laugh. He was always laughing, always talking, always happy.”

“The baseball world is going to miss one of the greats, and the world itself is going to miss one of the great men of mankind,” said Flannery, the San Francisco Giants’ third base coach. “He cared so much for other people. He had a work ethic unlike anybody else, and had a childlike demeanor of playing the game just because he loved it so much.”

Gwynn was last with his San Diego State team on March 25 before beginning a leave of absence. His Aztecs rallied around a Gwynn bobblehead doll they would set near the bat rack during games, winning the Mountain West Conference tournament and advancing to the NCAA regionals.

Last week, SDSU announced it was extending Gwynn’s contract one season. The Aztecs play at Tony Gwynn Stadium, which was built in the mid-1990s with a $4 million donation by then-Padres owner John Moores.

Fans paid their respects Monday by visiting the statue of Gwynn on a grassy knoll just beyond the outfield at Petco Park.

Gwynn’s wife, Alicia, and other family members were at his side when he died, agent John Boggs said.

“He was in a tough battle and the thing I can critique is he’s definitely in a better place,” Boggs said. “He suffered a lot. He battled. That’s probably the best way I can describe his fight against this illness he had, and he was courageous until the end.”